Alexander Kerzhakov scored with one of his first touches after coming on as a substitute to give Russia a 1-1 draw with South Korea in a match in Group H in Cuitabá, Brazil, on Tuesday that was marked by a huge goalkeeping error.
Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev spilled Lee Keun-ho’s shot into his own net to give South Korea the lead in the 68th minute at the Arena Pantanal.
But Kerzhakov bailed out his teammate, turning in a shot from close range in the 74th minute — three minutes after entering the game as a substitute — to rescue a point for Russia in a poor-quality match.
Akinfeev stayed on the ground inside his own net, head in his hands, after making his blunder, clearly embarrassed after dropping what was a routine save from a shot from about 30 yards. He was consoled by a couple of teammates, who patted him on the back, but could soon join in the celebrations when Kerzhakov equalized.
The point leaves both teams behind Belgium, which beat Algeria, 2-,1 earlier Tuesday, but the group appears wide open based on the first two matches.
Having lost four of its last five games heading to Brazil, the South Koreans came into their eighth straight World Cup with concerns over their flimsy defense and a lack of goal threat. A 4-0 thrashing by Ghana in a warm-up in Miami last week highlighted those deficiencies.
Defensively, they were not terrible, but there was no hiding their toothless attack going forward, with the experienced Park Chu-young starting as the lone striker but justifying fears that he has lost his edge after three ineffective years with Arsenal in England’s Premier League. He was substituted in the 56th.
Russia, led by former England coach Fabio Capello, was just as lifeless in attack — at least until Kerzhakov and Alan Dzagoev came off the bench — and a dire first half was marked by the large contingent of Brazilian fans in the crowd doing slow hand clapping.
Except for a shot by Son Heung-min that flew over the bar in the 39th minute when the forward was free at the edge of the penalty area, there was barely a chance created in the first half. Capello stood with his hands on his hips in the technical area throughout the first 45 minutes, looking unimpressed.
There was a major improvement after the break, although it required the mistake by Akinfeev to really get the game going.
South Korea, however, could not hold on and when Dzagoev’s crossing shot was spilled by goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong and Hwang Seok-ho’s clearance went straight at Andrey Yeshchenko, Kerzhakov was there to bundle home from inside the six-yard box.
Source: NYTimes